SCITUATE, Mass. — It’s the eighth autumn since Roman Catholic parishioners began occupying St. Francis X. Cabrini church around the clock to protest the Boston Archdiocese’s 2004 decision to close it. But this season could have passed without heat to kill the chill.

Last month, a utility worker showed up to cut off the power because the archdiocese hadn’t paid the bill for months, said vigil leader Jon Rogers. Protesters paid a couple hundred dollars to settle the bill, and the power stayed on.

The archdiocese said it was “an administrative error” and they intend to pay going forward, another example of the comparatively light-handed touch with which it’s handled the protests, to date. Rogers is skeptical and calls it another sign the archdiocese is working harder than ever to end the lingering protests.